Stand for supporting an appliance

ABSTRACT

An antitheft stand for a television receiver or other applicance placed in a guest room of a motel or the like to prevent unauthorized removal of the appliance therefrom. The stand includes a base supported upon the floor of such room, a post extending upwardly from the base, and a platform structure mounted on the post and composed of two separable sections one of which is an underlying closure or receptacle secured to the post. A tie rod extends from the inside of the closure through the post and base and is fixedly attached to the floor of the room to hold the components of the stand together as well as to secure the same to the floor. A lock releasably secures the platform plate section and closure section to each other and thereby prevents access to the means used to fasten the plate to the television receiver and therefore prevents removal of the receiver from the stand and from the floor to which it is attached.

Lucasey I 1 Apr. 3, 1973 [54] STAND FOR SUPPORTING AN [58] Field of Search ..248/4l5, 418,12l,122,126, 248/176, 187, 203, 278, 289, 309, 310; 108/50; 312/7 R, 7 TV; 70/58, 240

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,171,664 9/1939 McFarland ..248/203 2,486,032 10/1949 Jimenez ..248/203 2,921,623 l/l960 Humphries et a1. ..248/418 3,291,432 12/1966 Lucasey ..248/278 3,321,165 5/1967 Wann ..248/203 3,559,942 2/1971 Lucasey ..248/278 3,593,954 7/1971 Ritchie et a1. ..248/425 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 863,728 311961 Great Britain ..l08/50 Primary ExaminerMarion Parsons, Jr. Attorney-Joseph B. Gardner [57] ABSTRACT An antitheft stand for a television receiver or other applicance placed in a guest room of a motel or the like to prevent unauthorized removal of the appliance therefrom. The stand includes a base supported upon the floor of such room, a post extending upwardly from the base, and a platform structure mounted on the post and composed of two separable sections one of which is an underlying closure or receptacle secured to the post. A tie rod extends from the inside of the closure through the post and base andis fixedly attached to the floor of the room to hold the components of the stand together as well as to secure the same to the floor. A lock releasably secures the platform plate section and closure section to each other and thereby prevents access to the means used to fasten the plate to the television receiver and therefore prevents removal of the receiver from the stand and from the floor to which it is attached.

I 9 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEDAPR3 191a 3.724795 SHEETIUF2 INVENTOR JOSEPH A. LUCASEY PATENTEDAPR3 I975 3, 724,798

sum 2 0r 2 INVENTOR.

' JOSEPH A. LUC SEY F BY gz mounting arrangements BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a stand or pedestal for a television receiver or like appliance and, more particularly, to an antitheft stand which prevents unauthorized removal of the appliance from its surroundings but otherwise permits use thereof in an ordinary manner.

Many motels, hotels, and other places accommodating transient guests have a television set, radio or other expensive appliance placed in many if not all of the inreceivable within the closure section and has shoulders or ledges projecting from opposite sides thereof which are encompassed by flanges extending inwardly of the cavity of the closure to thereby enclose the platform and hide from view the means by which the appliance is secured to one of the two members.

As will be more fully understood from the more detailed description that follows, the cooperating dividual rooms for the use and convenience of their guests. While such appliances are often relatively expensive (a color television receiver, for example), it is not usually practicable to always maintain the individual rooms under close surveillance. For this reason such appliances have become a target for theft.

In order to protect television receivers and similar appliances, arrangements have been provided in the past for mounting these receivers within the guest room in such a manner that unauthorized removal thereof is made difficult. For example, US. Pat. No. 3,291,432 issued on Dec. 13, 1966 to the present applicant is directed to a mounting arrangement which is particularly applicable for this purpose. However, such prior for securing receivers or the like at a particular location have not been intended as effective antitheft arrangements because the particular means by which the appliances are attached to the stands, or the stands secured to a floor or wall surface within the rooms, is often visible and invites tampering provided that the appliance is sufficiently valuable which is the case with color television receivers. Also, prior arrangements do not always television provide the versatility that one might desire in place- 7 ment of a television receiver and control over the degree to which it can be rotated or otherwise moved for viewing from different positions within a room;

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a stand for mounting and supporting a television receiver or the like on a surface in a manner which materially impedes and substantially prevents unauthorized removal of the same in an effective, non-obvious manner. In its basic aspects, the stand of the present invention includes a base for engagement with a supporting surface on which it is desired to mount the appliance, and means for nonremovably securing the base to the surface. A support post projects from the base and has a platform structure or bracket at its free end for non-removable attachment to the appliance. I

In keeping with theinvention, the bracket or platform of the stand is designed to provide the desired non-removable attachment of the appliance thereto in a quite simple manner but nevertheless effective to prevent one who would be tempted to remove the appliance from discovering and having access to the par ticular means by which'it is secured to thestand. To 7 tions is adapted to be non-removably or' semi-permanently secured to the post. The platform section is shoulder-flange arrangement provides a simple means of securing the two sections of the bracket together in a manner assuring the desired concealment of the fasteners by means of which the appliance is fastened to the plate section of the bracket. The bracket arrangement can also be used to conceal the securing means used for the mounting arrangement by means of which the entire stand is secured to a wall or floor surface of the room. In this connection, the stand is most desirably provided in various dismantlable pieces to facilitate its shipment and handling, and the means for securing the stand to a room surface is also used to nondismantlably secure the various parts of the stand together. That is, the post of the stand is most advantageously formed as a separate piece from both the base of the stand and the bracket thereof, and the securing means employed to fixedly secure the stand to .a desired room surface also secures the bracket to the post and the post to the base. This multi-function use of the securing means simplifies installation as well as facilitates shipment.

The inventive stand also includes means for providing a selected degree of angular rotation for the television receiver so that it can be viewed conveniently from different locations in a room. As a particular salient feature of the invention, the means providing the angular displacement is adjustable so that the amount of rotation provided by each stand can be selected to fit the particular requirements and limitations of any installation. Most desirably, such means are also tamperproof so that once the bracket sections are placed 7 together with the closure section enclosing the platform section, a guest cannot adjust the degree of rotation selected.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS platform structure or bracket component of the stand and to which the television receiver is fixedly attachable; 1

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the bracket component of the stand taken on a .plane indicated generally by the lines 3- 3 in FIG. 1 and illustrating the particular manner in which the degree of rotation of I FIG. Sis an enlarged broken detailed view showing one of the stop pins.

DETAILED DESCRIPTIONOF THE-PREFERRED EMBODIMENT or how the stand issecured to the room wall 14 which,

in the case illustrated is the floor wall. Moreover, the stand 11 does not include any exposed fasteners or the like to tempt one to tamper therewith in order to effect removal of the receiver 12.

The stand 11 includes a base component 16 which is yet being-effective not only to prevent unauthorized made up of four equally spaced, radially extending legs 17 (only two of which are shown) which terminate in downwardly turned feet 18 for engagement with the floor surface 13. The legs 17 radiate outwardly from a ponent 22 is received within the base collar 19 and projects upwardly therefrom. More particularly, the collar 19 includes intermediate its ends an annular shoulder 23 which extends circumferentially inwardly and upon which the lower end of the post 22 seats. A bracket component or platform structure, generally referred to by reference numeral 24, is supported upon the'upper end of the post 22 and it is adapted to have the appliance 12 attached thereto.

As one particularly salient feature of the invention, the bracket component 24 enables the television receiver 12 to be attached to'the stand in a manner which is not apparent and yet easily enables an authorized person to remove'thereceiver for'repair or replacement. That. is, the bracket is made up of two main parts or sections, a box-like closure or receptacle 26 adapted for s'ecurance to the post 22 and a platform section orplate 27 adapted to'be attached to the television receiver and releasably confined within the closure. As is illustrated best in FIG. 2, the closure 26 is generally rectangular in shape with a rectangular base or bottom wall 29 from the edges of which side walls 29, 30, 31, and 32 extend upwardly to thereby define a rectangular cavity for reception therein of the platform section 27 J The platform section 27 is defined by a generally rectangular top wall 33 from the edges of which side walls.34,3 6, 37, and 38 extend downwardly. Such platform section is adapted to be fixedly attached to the television receiver by a plurality of releasable v fasteners. That is, the top wall 33 is provided with a plurality of spaced apart apertures 39, in this case four, through whichrbolts 41 can extend upwardly for engagement with complementary threaded bores provided in the base of the television receiver. As is illustrated, the heads of the bolts 41 are located along the inside surface of the top wall 33 of the platform section, and when this section and the closure section 26 are assembled, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4, such bolt heads are neither visible nor accessible.

The particular manner in which the platform section 27 is secured within the closure 26 is quite simple while disassembly of the bracket structure but also to provide the desired unobviousness or concealment of the manner in which the television receiver is fixedly secured to the bracket. To this end, the opposed front and rear side walls 30 and 32 of the closure 26 have flanges 42 and 43 respectively extending inwardly from the upper edges thereof. Such flanges thus extend inwardly of the cavity defined by the closure at locations which are spaced above the base wall 28. The platform section 27 has shoulders 44 and 46 defined at opposed sides for underlying cooperation with the flanges 42 and 43 to maintain the platform section in position within the closure 26. Such shoulders are provided by the top wall 33 of the platform section, and which ,top wall is relieved adjacent its edges (from which the front and rear side walls 36 and 34 extend) to provide the shoulders or ledges 44 and 46 which fit beneath the flanges 42 and 43.

As can best be seen from FIG. 4, the front-to-rear width dimension of the platform section 27 is less than the corresponding width dimension of the cavity of the closure 26 which permits the platform to be movable within the cavity for a limited distance in the direction of such width. When the platform section 27 is in the location or position relative to the closure 26 illustrated in FIG. 4, the flanges 42 and 43 overlie the shoulders 44 and 46 and prevent upward withdrawal of the platform section from the closure cavity. However, the

I top wall 33) is greater than the front-to-rear width of the flange 43 and ledge 46 which permits the platform to be moved rearwardly in the cavity to the extent that the ledge 46 no longer underlies the flange 43, whereupon the ledge is free from the flangeand the platform 26 can be pivoted upwardlyv along the wall 38 thereof to permit it to be removed from the closure 26 (or inserted thereinto), as shown in FIG. 2.

Locking means are provided for normally retaining the platform 27 within the closure 26 with the inwardly extending flanges 42 and 43 of such closure encompassing or overlying the shoulders or ledges 44 and 46.

. More particularly, a key operated lock 47 is fixedly secured to and extends inwardly from the upwardly projecting wall 32 of the closure 26. The lock 47 has an outer housing 48 rigidly secured within an aperture in the wall 32 of the closure and extending inwardly therefrom into the space enclosed by the platform 27 when the two sections of the bracket 24 are fitted. together. In this regard, the wall 38 of the platform is notched to provide a recess 49 to enable the platform to be received within the cover, as aforesaid, without the lock housing 48 presenting an obstruction.

Thev lock housing .48 normally encloses a lock cylinder 51 which has a tongue 52 extending from its rear end. As is illustrated, the tongue 52 projects through an aperture 53 in a locking flange 54 depending downwardly'from the underneath surface of top wall 33 of the platform 27. The lock cylinder is normally retained within the lock housing 48, as is conventional, via tumbler pins associated with the cylinder which engage radial grooves in the lock housing. Insertion of the proper key into the'tumbler, though, will be withdrawn from lock. housing 48, thereby removing the tongue from the latch aperture 53.

The length of the tongue 52 is chosen relative to the position of the locking flange 54 and permissible frontto-rear displacement of the platform 27 that when the lock cylinder 51 is engaged within the lock housing 48 and the platform 27 is moved to its most forward position within the cavity of the closure 26, the tongue still extends through the aperture 53 in the lock flange so that the platform cannot be removed from the closure. The result is that even though the platform 27 is slidably displaceable within the closure 26 when the lock is in its locking mode, the platform .cannot be removed. However, when one is supplied with the appropriate key for removing the lock cylinder 51 from the lock casing 48, the platform 27 and, hence, any appliance 12 affixed thereto, can be simply removed from the closure and the remainder of the stand by simply sliding the platform forwardly to clear ledge 46 from the flange 43 and then pivoting the platform upwardly to free it from the closure.

Besides the bracket 24 making inaccessible the particular means (i.e., bolts 41) by which the television receiver 12 or other appliance is secured to the stand, it also provides this same function for the means which securesthe stand to the floor 14. Most desirably, the major component of such securing means is in the form of a tie rod 56 which extends axially through the support post 22 with its upper end projecting beyond such support post into the closure cavity and with its lower parts of the stand together. In this connection, it is to be noted that although the tubular support post 22 is received within the collar 19 of the base, it is not directly secured thereto in a rigid manner. Moreover, the closure 26 of the bracket 24 is supported upon the upper end of the post 22 but is not directly secured thereto. Rather, the tie rod 56, in extending from inside the closure throughthe support post into the floor 14, secures the closure to the support post and secures the support post to the base 16. Thus, the stand can be manufactured and shipped in a disassembled form to reduce its ultimate cost to the customer. However, the customer can easily assemble the stand while mounting it in the room therefore since the tie rod 56 provides both the means for holding the stand together and the means for securing it to a floor.

It will be noted that the bracket 24 is secured to the support post 22 via a lazy susan arrangement which permits the bracket 24 (and television receiver 12 supported thereon) to be rotated relative to the axis of the support post. That is, a pair of parallel plates 71 and 72, between which are positioned a plurality of ball bearings 73 located in a circular raceway formed in the end extending completely through collar extension 21 vided for this purpose in the floor 14. As is illustrated, the lower end 58 of the tie rod is threaded and has received thereon-below the floor a toggle nut 59. The opposed wings 61 of the toggle nut are resiliently urged outward into the position shown to prevent the tie rod from being withdrawn upwardly through the. aperture 57. However, as is conventional, such wings can be pivoted inwardly to positions adjacent the tie rod to enable the end 58 with the nut 59 thereon to be initially inserted through the aperture 57 at the time the stand is being mounted in a room. A lock nut 62 on the rod end 58 bears downwardly upon the floor l4 and prevents the rod 56 from rotating.

As can best be seen from FlG. 4, the upper end 64 of the tie rod 56 projects upwardly beyond the post 22 through a collar 66 into the cavity defined by the closure 26 of the bracket 24. A nut 67 is threadably received on the tie rod end 64 and bears against a washer 68 which is, in turn, in engagement with and bears upon the collar 66. It will be appreciated that with this arrangement, thetie rod 56 with nuts 59 and 67 on its opposite ends acts to. maintain the stand in fixed engagement with the floor 14. It does so while being entirely out of sight, thereby making the particular manner in which the stand is secured to the floor unobvious, completely inaccessible when the bracket floor but also to non-removably secure the various plates, are disposed intermediate the the upper end of the post 22 and the under surface of the closure base wall 28. The plate 72 is rigidly secured to the closure base wall, such as by means of rivets 74, and the plate 71 is in engagement with and seated upon theupper edge of the support post 22. The aforesaid collar 66 through which the tie rod 56 extends acts as a journal for at least the upper plate 72 and base wall 28, and the ends of the collar are flared outwardly to extend over the inner upper surface of the base wall and the outer lower surface of the plate 71 to interconnect and maintain the components of the lazy susan" in their assembled condition.

It will be seen that with the above-described construction, rotation of the bracket 24 and, hence, any appliance 12 secured thereto, with respect to the remainder of the stand is provided. This enablesa guest to adjust the television receiver to face different locations in the room within which it is mounted. It will be appreciated, though, that it is often desired to limit the angular extent to which the receiver is rotatable so that item be kept fromcolliding with adjacent walls, fumiture, etc. As another important feature of the stand 11, it includes means for limiting the extent of the permissible rotation of the bracket 24 and receiver 12 thereon and for also enabling the angular extent of such rotation to be selectively varied to accommodate various installations. To this end, an arcuate array of apertures 76 extend through the base wall 28 of the cover. Such apertures are arranged around the .axis of rotation of the bracket, and each aperture is adapted to selectively receive one orthe other of a pair of stop pins 77. As illustrated, a stop bar or extension 78 projects radially outward from plate 71 and the are described -by the apertures 76 is in alignment with or overlies the stop bar.

The result of the arrangement is that by appropriate ly selecting two of the apertures 76 for the pins.77

(which extend downwardly therethrough forabutment with the extension 78, as seen best in FIG. 5), the degree of angular rotation of the bracket can be limited to a desired sector. That is, the stop bar 78 is always located between the two pins77, and such pins act as stops that abut the bar and thereby define'the limits of With this arrangement, therefore, the degree of angular rotation allowed by any particular stand can beadjusted to accommodate a-desired installation; and if only one pin is used, essentially 360 adjustment is available. It is to be noted that the heads of the pins 77 are enclosed by the cover plate when the platform is received therein and. have a high-friction engagement with the circumjacent edges of the openings76. Thus, the pins cannot be moved by unauthorized persons from one pair of apertures to another.

While the invention has been described in connection with a particular embodiment thereof, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, although the specific embodiment is shown and described with the television receiver 12 secured to'the platform section 27 and the closure 26 secured to the post 22, this arrangement can be reversed. That is, the bracket can be inverted and the closure section secured to the television receiver and the platform section supported upon the post. Other changes and modifications will also be apparent, and it is therefore not intended to. limit the protection afforded the invention beyond thescope of coverage provided by the claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:

l 1. A stand for non-removably' supporting a television receiver or like appliance on the surface of a wall, said stand j comprising; a base adapted to be supported against such surface; means for non-removably securing said base to said surface; a support post nonremovably securable adjacent one'end to said base in outwardly projecting relationship therefrom; and ,a bracket component including separable first and second sections defining a substantially closed compartment when joined, said first section forming a closure for such second section, said second section constituting a supporting platform for such appliance and securableto the same by removable fasteners which are enclosedand concealed within said compartment when said sections are joined, said first section secured to the post by means concealed within said compartment and said post, and lock means independent of saidlock means for releasably joining said bracketv sections, whereby such removable fasteners securing said stand to an appliance are inaccessible for unauthorized disengagement of the appliance from said stand.

2. The stand according 1 to claim 1 wherein said bracket'section is'angularly rotatable relativeto said post, and wherein stop means withdrawable from within said compartment are provided for limiting the degree'of rotation of said bracket to a predetermined degree. g

3. The stand according to claim 2 wherein said stop means includes a pair of stop pins and a stop barengageable therewith, one thereof being movable with said bracket and the other being fixedly related to said post.

4. The stand according to claim 3 wherein said bracket includes an array of apertures extending therethrough in alignment with said stog bar, and said pins are insertable through anyselecte apertures for engagement with said stop bar, whereby the degree of angular displacement of said platform section with respect to post is selectively variable.

5. The stand according to claim 4 wherein the. heads of said pins are enclosed and concealed within said compartment inaccessible to tampering when said bracket sections are joined.

6. The stand according to claim 1 wherein said closure of said bracket structure includes a base wall and side walls extending upwardly therefrom to define said compartment, certain of said opposite side walls having inwardly extending flanges projecting inwardly of said compartment at locations spaced from said base wall, said platform section having ledges along the opposite edge portions thereof and being receivable within said compartment and 'movable therein between a first position in which said opposed flanges overlie said ledges and prevent removal of said platform section from said Y mode preventing removal of said platform section from said closure upon said platform section being moved to said second position and a second mode releasing said platform section and enabling removal thereof when in said second position.

7. 'The stand according to claim 6 wherein said lock means includes a tongue portion associated with said closure and extendable through an aperture in i a locking flange associated with said platform section when said locking means is in said first mode to prevent removal of said platform section from said closure, said tongue being withdrawn from said aperture upon said locking means beingconditioned into its second mode to enable removal of said platform section from said closure. 1

. 8. A stand in accordance with claim 1 in which said second section is movable transaxially relative to said post for releasing said section from attachment to said first section when the lock is in inoperative position. v

9. A stand in accordance with claim 8 .in which means are provided on the second section engageable with said lo ck to prevent detachment of said'section 

1. A stand for non-removably supporting a television receiver or like appliance on the surface of a wall, said stand comprising: a base adapted to be supported against such surface; means for nonremovably securing said base to said surface; a support post nonremovably securable adjacent one end to said base in outwardly projecting relationship therefrom; and a bracket component including separable first and second sections defining a substantially closed compartment when joined, said first section forming a closure for such second section, said second section constituting a supporting platform for such applianCe and securable to the same by removable fasteners which are enclosed and concealed within said compartment when said sections are joined, said first section secured to the post by means concealed within said compartment and said post, and lock means independent of said lock means for releasably joining said bracket sections, whereby such removable fasteners securing said stand to an appliance are inaccessible for unauthorized disengagement of the appliance from said stand.
 2. The stand according to claim 1 wherein said bracket section is angularly rotatable relative to said post, and wherein stop means withdrawable from within said compartment are provided for limiting the degree of rotation of said bracket to a predetermined degree.
 3. The stand according to claim 2 wherein said stop means includes a pair of stop pins and a stop bar engageable therewith, one thereof being movable with said bracket and the other being fixedly related to said post.
 4. The stand according to claim 3 wherein said bracket includes an array of apertures extending therethrough in alignment with said stop bar, and said pins are insertable through any selected apertures for engagement with said stop bar, whereby the degree of angular displacement of said platform section with respect to said post is selectively variable.
 5. The stand according to claim 4 wherein the heads of said pins are enclosed and concealed within said compartment inaccessible to tampering when said bracket sections are joined.
 6. The stand according to claim 1 wherein said closure of said bracket structure includes a base wall and side walls extending upwardly therefrom to define said compartment, certain of said opposite side walls having inwardly extending flanges projecting inwardly of said compartment at locations spaced from said base wall, said platform section having ledges along the opposite edge portions thereof and being receivable within said compartment and movable therein between a first position in which said opposed flanges overlie said ledges and prevent removal of said platform section from said compartment and a second position in which at least one of said ledges is freed from its associated flange so that said platform section is removable from said closure, said lock means being actuatable between a first mode preventing removal of said platform section from said closure upon said platform section being moved to said second position and a second mode releasing said platform section and enabling removal thereof when in said second position.
 7. The stand according to claim 6 wherein said lock means includes a tongue portion associated with said closure and extendable through an aperture in a locking flange associated with said platform section when said locking means is in said first mode to prevent removal of said platform section from said closure, said tongue being withdrawn from said aperture upon said locking means being conditioned into its second mode to enable removal of said platform section from said closure.
 8. A stand in accordance with claim 1 in which said second section is movable transaxially relative to said post for releasing said section from attachment to said first section when the lock is in inoperative position.
 9. A stand in accordance with claim 8 in which means are provided on the second section engageable with said lock to prevent detachment of said section from the first section except when the lock is in inoperative position. 